


Agony of an Apprentice

by Blimbgis_the_Turgled



Series: The Cursed Witch AU [1]
Category: The Owl House (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Body Horror, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Not Beta Read, The Owl Girl Au, Transformation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-29
Updated: 2020-09-07
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:06:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,931
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26169163
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blimbgis_the_Turgled/pseuds/Blimbgis_the_Turgled
Summary: Luz's rescue mission into Emperor Belos' castle goes nowhere near as planned and permanently changes her
Relationships: Amity Blight/Luz Noceda, Eda Clawthorne/Camila Noceda
Series: The Cursed Witch AU [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1919893
Comments: 46
Kudos: 533
Collections: All things Disney





	1. Pain

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Owlet](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26111539) by [spotty8ee](https://archiveofourown.org/users/spotty8ee/pseuds/spotty8ee). 



> occurs after Agony of a Witch. 
> 
> my primary language is English, so I use google translate to write dialoge and stuff in other languages, please let me know if it's good or w/e

Eda ran through the woods alongside Amity, Gus, and Willow, away from the Emperor’s castle. A feathery mass was held in their arms as they tried to get to the Owl House.

* * *

_Earlier..._

Luz stood before a disoriented Lilith who had just been subjected to an improvised magic flashbang Luz had created from two light glyphs. Luz quickly took King and Owlbert and ran to try and find Eda before it was too late.

Using the staff as a blunt weapon, her glyph sheets, her cloak, and her determination to save her mother figure, Luz forced her way through the castle corridors, fighting alongside her friends. She had luckily prepared many glyph sheets beforehand, having expected she’d run into trouble. 

Oddly, every Coven guard in the castle was easy to defeat, turning out to be nothing more than animated clothes...with little evidence to support if they were people, or if they ever had been real in the first place. This turned out to be a ploy to possibly boost their morale, as tougher witch soldiers showed up to fight off the intruders.

Amity pulled a trick from Eda’s playbook and summoned a small army of abominations to fight the guards, making Luz cheer up. Eda would be proud, she said to herself.

Willow was a force to be reckoned with, plowing through Belos’ forces like an unstoppable force of nature.

Gus too, was showing his true potential, causing major disruption in the enemy forces using his improved illusion magics, and causing them to fight each other.

She listened intently for the sounds of the Owl Beast, she was getting closer, she felt...no, she definitely heard her teacher’s growls and roars echoing through the castle. She ran through the halls following the sound until she eventually reached the lowest dungeons. She recited her plan again...appeal to the inner Eda using something dear to her, she had plenty of that with her.

Luz saw Eda restrained with chains, sleeping...she must have tired herself out struggling against her bonds. She carefully approached her making steady movements in case she woke. The beast stirred and Luz held out her hand in a stopping gesture and slowly reached into her bag, the beast tilted its head in confusion. 

Luz withdrew a picture from her bag, from the time she got into an eating contest to the death, and said in a small voice “E-Eda...it’s me...it’s Luz” she moved closer with the picture and to some relief, the Owl seemed to show interest in the picture. Suddenly the beast turned its attention to something behind Luz and growled threateningly...like it was instinctively trying to protect Luz from the something in the dark.

Lilith emerged from the dark, her staff emanating a blue light, but she was shielding her eyes from the light...the flashbang may have damaged her eyes, Luz thought.

“What...what do you think you’re doing, human?!” Lilith’s voice grew angry, but she sounded exhausted, as if she had run all the way over here from the spot of their previous confrontation “haven’t you done enough damage already?”

“I should be asking that of you, _maldita bruja_!” Luz brandished Eda’s staff and withdrew some spell cards, preparing for a fight, but then saw Lilith break down in sobs.

“Don’t you get it?! I just wanted to _heal_ her! I wanted to save her! I couldn’t bear to see her like this anymore!” she said with tears in her eyes

“Spare me the crocodile tears, lady, you just feel guilty because of what you did to her!!” Luz shouted, loud enough to echo through the halls “you betrayed her...your own blood…out of some sick jealousy?! And then you took her from her family!...Her _real_ family that she built herself!”

“How _dare_ you assume things you know nothing about, _human_ !!” Lilith spat the term as if it were filth on her tongue, and glared at Luz. “You have _no_ idea what I’ve had to do to get this far, so that I could help her!!” her voice rose and now Lilith was truly angry “ _I_ hold the Emperor’s favor, he’ll fulfill this dream of mine to reward my loyalty, and the only thing standing in my way...is you”

Luz’s anger faded away into fear as she saw a sadistic smile curl on the elder Clawthorn sister’s face “I just have to get rid of you for good now” she said with a low chuckle “and then everything will be alright” she drew a circle and cast brilliant blue lightning that Luz only just dodged. It was a game of cat and mouse, and Luz was the mouse at the mercy of a murderous witch.

“Your days of wild magic are over, _human_...and your life is over before it even began!” she shot off another blast that missed again, knocking the picture of Luz across the floor, right in front of the Owl Beast, who reached out to touch it, a sense of familiarity rising in the creature.

Lilith’s next shot blasted Luz against the wall and then began thinking deeply as if she were considering other options, before drawing a spell circle and touching the tip of her staff to the terrified human’s forehead “death would be too easy to deal with you...I have a better idea” 

Luz’s scream tore through the halls, loud enough to reach the others.

“LUZ?!” Amity said as her eyes grew wide as saucers before she broke out in a full sprint towards the source of the sound without a second thought.

* * *

  
  


Luz was curled up on the stone floor, tears streaming from her eyes as her body began rapidly changing. Her nails turned to sharpened talons, feathers were growing over her body, every nerve in her body was flaring up like someone had put a torch to her skin. She clutched her chest as she felt her skin being stretched violently and her teeth were growing. New pains on her back grew intense as if someone was slicing her back open with a searing hot knife, and then something burst out of her shoulder blades...a pair of dark brown feathered wings.

“wHat….what d-d-did you d-do to me?!” she forced out between sobs, but Lilith didn’t answer her, suddenly her body racked with another wave of pains as her limbs forcibly changed. Her feet stretched painfully, destroying her shoes, all while Lilith calmly watched.

Lilith turned her attention away from Luz and back to her sister...or where her sister used to be. The chains had been cut and Eda was nowhere to be seen "Edalyn?...EDALYN!!!" Lilith shouted and her reply was a heel kick to her upper back from none other than her own sister returned to normal. Amity arrived shortly after, panting heavily to catch her breath.

Amity saw Luz and her heart broke, the girl she loved was horrifically mutated by some magic she was not familiar with.

"Lilith! What are you doing to Luz?!” Eda shouted, as furious as the day Luz had been held hostage by the Coven leader.

“Teaching her a lesson, _dear sister_ ” Lilith said, twirling her staff and firing off lightning in Eda and Amity’s direction “that there are great consequences to defying the Emperor”

“Oh, Lilly...we’re not family anymore” said Eda, stunning Lilith briefly 

“Very well, I’ll deal with you and then your _human_ ” she aimed her white staff at the unarmed witches, Amity clearly shocked by the blatant disregard for life Lilith was demonstrating.

Lilith used a powerful lightning spell and easily overpowered the two witches, forcing them to their knees as Eda gritted her teeth through the pain while Amity yelled out. All the while, Lilith smiled, too far gone to reason with.

_Pain_

Amity was not resilient enough to withstand the power of a high-level sorceress like the elder Clawthorne sister. Luz could only watch now, weak from the pain.

_She was hurting her_

_This woman was hurting Amity_

_She hurt_ **_Me_ **

Luz pounced at Lilith, with every ounce of strength she could muster, a newfound fury in her heart that screamed in her mind...a rage that burned like a consuming fire...

Most of her mental clarity was long lost to her...she felt a wetness as she attacked the witch, she felt her talons tear into meat, and became slicked with something, though she did not know what. She heard the wet tearing of meat, and the snapping of bone and something slip down her throat.

And then she felt an impact at the back of her skull before everything turned dark.

* * *

  
  


_Now_ … 

Bitter ...

Something profoundly bitter overwhelmed her taste buds, far worse than any disgusting medicine her mom had given her growing up. There was a hand at the back of her head tilting it so she was forced to drink the awful fluid. Oh how she wished it to end.

“Gotta’ helluva kick, eh?” said a familiar voice, laughing with a snort...Eda’s signature laugh. 

Luz’s eyes fluttered open, her vision blurry at first, she made out some beige object before her eyes, which cleared to reveal Hooty about a foot away from her face, looking relieved and happy. She couldn’t swat him away, as her limbs felt like they were made of concrete...though she could move her head. Gus and Willow were standing beside whichever piece of furniture she was laying on, both of them looked like they were shedding tears of joy.

Amity threw her arms around her, holding her tight and cried into her shoulder.

“I thought I lost you” Amity whispered into her ear, and Luz hugged her back just as tight “ **never** do that to me again!”

  
  


“What happened?” asked Luz, and a dead silence filled the room, “guys, what happened?!”

“Luz...I’m sorry” Eda said “Lilly hurt you...I guess she wanted to torment us again one last time before she died” she stroked Luz’s hair

There was a bottle of the golden elixir Eda used to combat her curse, sitting on a small table that had been set up, but it was mostly empty...why would that be the case unless…

Luz looked down at herself and her eyes widened in shock

Her clothes

…

There were red...she didn’t own red clothes

The gears turned in her head...Lilith was dead, and Luz’s clothes were red

…

Then she noticed a taste in her mouth that was clearly not the bitter taste of the elixir, but like metal

“Oh...oh _god_ ” Luz felt like throwing up “I...I” 

“Luz, it’s going to be alright” Eda said in her best calming voice

  
  


"What did I do?!" Luz asked more alarmed now with the possible yet unsaid implications of the past hour

"Lilith died, Luz " said Willow "and then we left before the Coven could catch us"

"She cursed you, like she cursed me" said Eda "you turned into an Owl Beast"

"I killed her…" Luz realized, it was the only logical explanation for the metal taste in her mouth, the stains on her clothes

Willow and Gus looked away their faces telling that they had seen it happen

“No, you saved my life, Luz” said Amity holding her face, tears forming in her eyes “if you hadn't done that I-” she started to cry, stopping when Luz reached up to caress her cheek, making sure her newly sharp nails didn't hurt her. Amity put her hand over Luz’s, humming gently at the touch and rubbing her thumb over the back of her human’s hand

Now, with that out of the way, Eda made preparations for their guests to stay in the Owl House, in case the Emperor’s Coven had decided to put out notices for their arrests. Luz fell dead asleep by this point and Eda carried her to her room, laying her atop her “sleep cocoon” which Luz once kept insisting was called a “sleeping bag”. Amity laid next to her, holding her close and silently hoping things would get better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> edit: I commissioned evilsnotbag to draw the art of Luz, go check her stuff out!


	2. Coping

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luz begins to come to full terms about her affliction, and how her life has changed.
> 
> Eda secretly grieves her late sister and helps Luz through her current predicament

Luz awoke groggy and with a massive headache. Every muscle in her body ached in ways foreign to her, she hated it and wanted to keep sleeping more than anything. 

“What a weird dream…” she said in a scratchy early morning voice. A quick scan around the room let Luz know she was in her room in the Owl House. A bottle of elixir was sitting right before her eyes, confusing her, so she reached for it and saw her sharpened nails. Last night wasn’t a dream, she quickly realized. She began to panic.

“Mmmnnngh!!...No move!...fuffyyy...” said a sleepy voice in behind her...Amity’s voice. Luz froze and her face flushed and realized that Amity was cuddling her, her cheek was nuzzled in Luz’s hair. 

* * *

Downstairs, Eda was watching the news on her crystal ball to see what she would have to tell the sleeping kids in the house after they woke. It seemed Gus had planned ahead and barely anyone was able to tell that the gang had broken into the castle, thanks to his illusion magics. Eda chucked to herself, and wore a proud smile...not only did these kids do something incredibly illegal and dangerous, they also got away with it. 

Lilith’s death was reported as a monster attack, and though they didn’t show the body, Eda could remember it in vivid detail. The elder Clawthorn sister had lost a great deal of her neck after Luz had bitten a large chunk out of it. Her face had been eviscerated by sharpened talons and her bones had been broken. Eda had knocked Luz out before she could do more damage, but by then Lilith had looked closer to ground beef then a person.

But it wasn’t the fact Lilith was dead that haunted Eda, she could easily rest if it was just that, given all her late sister had done...it was that the last time they spoke, Eda had disowned her. After the kids had gone to sleep last night, Eda had sat in the kitchen drinking the strongest booze she owned and cried until she had fallen asleep. Even though Lilith had been the source of all the suffering Eda had endured in her life, she was devastated that she was gone without any explanation or such from her for her actions. 

Eda tried drawing a spell circle, and it fizzled out. She sighed dejectedly and peered into her mug of apple blood “this’ll take some getting used to” she said in a whisper.

Luz came down the stairs with a yawn, and the bottle of elixir in her hand. She’d slipped a pillow into Amity’s arms so she could leave the room. 

“How are you feeling kiddo?” Eda asked, cracking her back and groaning in relief

“Like my head is in a vice” Luz said, sipping the bitter brew in her hand “BLEGH! How did you ever get used to drinking this?” 

“You just get used to it...gonna be weird adjustment for me now that I don’t have to drink it anymore in the mornings” she said “you gotta drink until the bottle’s empty, no complaints”

“Fine, mom” Luz said sarcastically, too out of it to catch what she said, but it made Eda’s heart bloom.

“Want coffee or tea with your elixir?” Eda asked looking back at her messy-haired apprentice.

“Coffee” Luz groaned, rubbing her temples, she felt like the way people described hangovers in tv shows. 

Cooking without magic was a new thing to Eda, but in all honestly it was just a way to make it easier. The kitchen appliance gurgled and steamed as it brewed the hot brown morning potion that humans called coffee...Eda did now too, after some teasing from Luz. 

Breakfast was quiet that morning, despite the entire gang being present. The events of last night were still heavy in their minds. Amity had spared the more gorey details when she had recalled the previous night’s events in the dungeons

“ _Ay Dios mío_ , I can’t go home...not like this” Luz said, looking sadly at her reflection in a handheld mirror Gus had conjured for her. Her hair had a more fluffy/feathery texture to it, and her ears were pointed like a witchling’s. Luz pulled back her lip and saw she had visible fangs now too. What would her mother think? Would she even tolerate the more extreme changes…like an owl monster? 

She’d definitely blame Eda if the two ever met, and Luz wasn’t fond of trying to imagine how many ways that could go south. She feared that her mother might pull some drastic action, and then a million other terribly negative thoughts spiraled off it and then she started to cry.

Luz felt a hand lay over hers ...one of Amity’s cute tiny hands, and then she made eye contact with her. 

“Hey...come on, say it with me...we can fix this together” Amity gave her a smile that made Luz’s heart swell

‘We...we can fix this...together” she said back, wiping her eyes.

* * *

“Alright, the first step to living with a permanent incurable curse is how to deal with the bad stuff, and make sure it doesn’t bite you in the ass later” Eda said. They were in her room and Luz was sitting cross-legged in Eda’s nest bed. Eda was starting to teach Luz about how to deal with the owl curse.

“Normally you’d use the elixir, magic reserves, and your emotional state to stave it off, but you’re a human, so you don’t have a bile sack. This makes things just a little more complicated, but we’ll figure it out” Eda gave Luz a couple thumbs up.

“And what happens if...if I change?” Luz tucked her knees against her chest and hugged her legs, “ _No quiero lastimar a nadie_ ” she said shaking a little

“Luz” Eda sat down beside her “in all my years with the curse, I’ve come to accept that the Owl Beast isn't you...you can’t blame yourself for what it does. It’s an animal, and acts like any animal would. But last night showed me that maybe it acts on your behalf...it saved me and Amity that night.”

“It was like I was trapped in a dream...a bad one...I couldn’t see any of you...but I could hear you faintly. I felt like I was locked away in the trunk and someone else had the steering wheel" Luz recounted what she could remember “does that make any sense?”.

“I know exactly what you mean” Eda said “it’s gonna be alright...you’ll get through this...and better than I did”

* * *

  
  


Once Eda had determined that it was safe for everyone to go home, she let them leave. It seemed the emperor had no interest in sending his forces after them for whatever reason. No matter the case, Eda was glad to be home, and have her apprentice with her...who she later found curled up in her nest and snoozing rather soundly.

"Goodnight, Little Owl" said Eda in the softest voice 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edit: added last-minute Eda dialogue


	3. Learning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luz learns more about her curse and how it's changing her

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> since we don't have a canon explanation as to what happens to a human when they're cursed, I realized I can do whatever I want, even if it doesn't make sense (it's fuckin' magic! We don't have to explain SHIT!)

Going back to Hexside felt strange with all that had happened recently. Nobody here knew Luz and co. had stormed the seat of government and broken a high-profile prisoner out. In Principal Bump's office, he informed Luz that he had been told ahead of time about her…condition, and made sure to tell the other teachers, who swore to secrecy. 

Luz exited the office with her hood up again to hide her changed ears, she grew nauseous from nervousness, so she tried some breathing exercises to calm herself " _ you just gotta go through some classes, no big deal _ ".

Sometimes she was too naive

* * *

  
  


She had to keep pulling her hood up all day and some students thought it was suspicious, after all she'd only ever worn her hood twice at Hexside, once when she snuck in with Gus, and during the field trip to the Emperor's castle. To see her wearing it through an entire school day was very unusual to the people who only knew her by name or saw her in passing between classes.

Boscha, eager to bully Luz again, walked up behind the girl and grabbed her hood, a sneering smile on her face. "Hey  _ round ears _ , whatcha' hid-" she reached to pull down Luz's hood in the hallway, but was intercepted by Amity.

“Don’t you have better things to do right now, Boscha?” Amity asked, raising her eyebrow. This made Boscha scoff and walk away, having lost interest.

“Thanks...” said Luz, her voice small, and face flushed.

Amity smiled at her and held her hand out “come on, Abominations class starts soon”.

Luz took it and gave her a smile of her own.

* * *

Luz slumped onto the table in the cafeteria during Lunch period, the school day was only half over but she felt exhausted already. “I couldn’t focus at all today, my head still hurts” she said

She had positive moments, like compliments from other students on her nails. They thought that she had gotten them done in a shop, or that her mentor might have done it, growing nails longer through magic was not a new thing, so she didn’t have to make up anything about them being a side effect of the curse...like her ears. She hoped that the school faculty could come up with a plausible reason soon so she didn’t have to wear a hood all day. She considered asking Gus to cast an illusion to make her pointed ears look like normal round human ears, but she still didn’t know how long illusion spells lasted. 

  
  


“I can get you some pain reliever from the Healing track” offered Willow, one of her newest acquaintances was in the Healing track, and this was a fairly reasonable request as far as things were concerned.

“Please” Luz groaned, rubbing her temples. Being on the Healing track herself, she’d tried the pain-relieving potions they used, she asked for a double-strength dose, and let Willow handle the rest. 

Willow returned shortly afterward with a bottle of the blue potion, a product of the work of three tracks, and a rare exception to the law against mixing Covens. 

Luz uncorked the bottle, inhaling the sweet smell of the brew and took a sip. She felt something soothing flow into her head, relaxing away her headache, then a sensation took over her taste buds like that of warm honey “why can’t the elixir taste this good?” she wondered aloud, and considered the possibility of adding flavoring to the elixir...she considered asking her Potions teacher in class about it.

* * *

  
  
  


Bump had requested during their morning meeting that she make a stop in the school’s infirmary during the day to get an expert opinion on her current condition, leading to Luz standing before the door to said infirmary. Lucky for her, the healer was very knowledgeable in curses...even rare incurable ones like the Owl Beast curse, or whatever the name of it was.

When Luz had first come to Hexside as a student, she was given a physical examination by the school’s healer, and now the healer was doing it to establish how much the curse had changed her. 

Obviously her ears, teeth and hair had changed, but there were deeper changes occurring...the curse was enhancing her physiology. A test involving a prick to the finger showed that she had developed faster healing. Her muscles had also grown denser since her last physical, perhaps another side effect of the curse, wondered the healer.

Luz’s curse had made her all but one step away from a total human to witchling transformation, she did not have a bile sack like other witchlings. 

"Now, as you've been made aware, your curse may begin to affect more then just your physical attributes" the healer glanced up and did a double-take when they saw the human looking with dilated pupils at the shiny quill they were holding. "Psychological changes...may...occur..." they moved the quill to the left and the right, each time Luz's eyes were locked onto the writing utensil and she appeared to be resisting the urge to snatch it away.

It had already started.

* * *

37

That’s how many shiny things she had nearly pilfered today. She remembered when Eda had been transfixed by the light-up pen on that one night during the Boiling Rains, and wondered when she’d start sleeping in nests on the regular like her mentor. 

After returning home from a long day, Luz fell face-first onto the couch. She felt sore again, but at least her head was hurting less intensely than earlier. For now she wanted nothing more than to sleep, and her eyes slowly closed.

“Oh Luuuuz, you have a guest” Hooty’s voice pierced through her hurting head

“Nooo…” Luz groaned, too tired to even get up.

* * *

The next day was a weekend, meaning no school, and Eda was waiting on Owlbert to return from gathering junk in the human realm. For some reason, Luz found herself eagerly awaiting sorting through the imminent junk haul/

The portal door opened and a large sack slid through the passage, falling open in the living room.

  
  


“Wow, that’s quite a haul Owlbert!” Luz said, observing the junk the Palisman had brought in through the portal door. She reached down and scratched under his chin and received a delighted hooting from the little guy. For such a small critter, he could sure carry a lot.

Luz started rooting through the junk pile like a goblin, with King and Eda. Luz found a still-working Walkman player to her delight, and a bunch of shiny objects as well….well, she actually started to  _ hoard _ said shiny objects, making Eda chuckle under her breath. 

  
  


“ _ mija _ ?” said a familiar voice

Luz froze and slowly turned around

And was facing her mother, standing in the portal doorway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> basically the curse entered a symbiotic relationship with Luz, altering her physiological characteristics to suit it's needs, and she benefits from these changes but now you'll have to wait and see how Camilia handles all this
> 
> I opted out of having the curse give Luz a bile sack so that she can keep her established method of casting spells
> 
> edit: I forgot to mention what the three collaborating tracks on the pain relieving potion were. Healing, Plant, and Potions. The Plant Track/Coven supplies the herbs, the Potions Track/Coven prepares it, and the Healing Track/Coven adds the final touches


	4. Living

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luz adjusts to living with her curse, and the fact that her mother is now on the Boiling Isles

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I borrowed some elements from an idea I had for an episode where Camilia does end up on the Isles and finds out the truth, but for using in this story, the idea was modified a little to fit the flow of things
> 
> This chapter is probably one of the more emotionally heavy things I've written

  
  


Camilia Noceda expected many things to happen today. The usual mail truck, a few kids riding their bikes down the street, a neighbor perhaps greeting her, but not a little owl.

She sat on the porch reading the latest issue of her favored magazine, her phone sitting next to her as she began reading. She did hear a rustling sound, and she saw a tiny owl with the end of a huge bag filled with trash. At the top of the bag, she saw her phone and shouted “tiny trash thief!!” and gave chase. 

For such a small creature, it was sure fast, and it led her out to an abandoned house. The little owl flew inside and disappeared through the door. Camilia hesitated but then went in. All the texts from her daughter were on that phone, and she had no way of getting them back, so she steeled herself and rushed through the door.

* * *

  
  


“What is this place?” Camilia asked looking around “what happened to your hair?”

Luz had immediate flashbacks to Grom night when Grometius had mimicked Camilia, and she started to have a panic attack.

“ _Cariño, ¿qué pasa?_ ” Camilia knelt down and embraced her daughter .

The two stayed together for a few minutes until Luz had calmed down, wrapping her arms around her mother, inhaling the familiar scent of chimichurri.

“What are you doing here?” Luz asked, slightly muffled by her mother’s shirt.

“This _maldición_ owl stole my phone” she said pointing towards Owlbert.

Luz snorted out a laugh “that would be Owlbert, he’s Eda’s Palisman”

“Palis-what?” she asked “also, this doesn’t look like summer camp”

“I...have a lot to explain…” Luz said, her pointed ears drooping a little.

* * *

It was a good thing that it was a weekend, because it took a long time to explain everything. Camilia was understandably freaked out and had a hard time believing the fact that this was an entirely different world, and one that so conveniently seemed to work off of Luz’s nature. 

As she listened to her daughter explain things, she kept noticing her daughter’s changed features, the feathery yet fluffy hair, a pair of fangs, sharp nails, and pointed ears. Out of curiosity, she pinched the tip of one of Luz’s ears recoiling when Luz yelped in pain.

“I am taking you home _mija_ ” she said “and you’re going to _actual_ summer camp this time” she said taking Luz by the wrist.

“¡Mamá, espera!” Luz protested, but Camilia was having none of it.

Half from anger, and half from her worry for Luz’s safety, she ignored Luz’s protests...until Luz dropped to the ground and made a pained sound. Camilia turned and saw to her shock that Luz was growing feathers up her arms. The creepy bird tube wrapped around the two and quickly brought them inside.

“EDA!!!” shouted Luz as the curse began transforming her, to Camilia’s horror. 

Camilia could hear running on the second level and then they tumbled down the stairs loudly with an even louder thud afterwards as they hit the floor, a louder “OW!” echoed through the house. The one who emerged into the living room was apparently this “Eda” Luz had called out for. The only adult resident in this “Owl House” looked like some unhinged wild woman. Her hair was long and grey, her eyes were piercing gold, and on the chest of her dress, was a golden broach. 

“Luz?! What happ-...oh no” Eda finally arrived in the living room, and saw a fully transformed, and terrified-looking Owl Beast Luz. The older witch was reminded of when she first transformed. 

She was slightly bigger than her normal form, and was covered in brown feathers of varied shades. Her ears had elongated to about a foot in length. Her wings sported white specks and her hair had become much bushier. Her eyes had turned black entirely and her teeth had all become very sharp.

“ _¡¿Qué le hiciste a mi hija, bruja ?!_ ” Camilia shouted at the woman, scaring the now transformed Luz, who ran into the kitchen to hide.

Eda sighed and gestured towards the couch “you’re gonna want a seat for this” she said “want anything to drink? Tea? Coffee? Apple Blood?”

“Don’t you mean apple juice?” Camilia asked, confused.

“No” Eda responded flatly

* * *

  
  
  


Things finally settled down a bit, and Camilia had agreed to not rip out Eda’s throat in exchange for a full explanation, though she was having a hard time trying to imagine taking the witch seriously given the shirt she was wearing. Luz was curled up on the rug, sleeping, she purred softly. Some odd, deranged cat-dog creature was laying next to her.

“Now, where do I start...it started about two days ago, give-or-take...Luz and her friends broke into the Emperor’s castle to find me and set me free. But my sister had other ideas...she attacked Luz with a curse...the same curse she gave me thirty-or-so years ago" Eda took a sip of her apple blood.

Camila balled her hands into fists "if I get my hands on that _maldita bruja_ -" 

"I'd wish you luck...but you missed your chance, Luz took care of that whole...issue" Eda said "it wasn't pretty…"

Camila quickly read between the lines, and covered her mouth.

"She saved my life, and Blight kid's too" Eda frowned a bit "I can't thank her enough for what she's done for me"

"Would this ‘Blight’ happen to be Amity?” Camilia asked, recalling what Luz had been explaining earlier.

"Yep, Amity Blight, she’s a very good friend to Luz…”Eda said “and she is very much head over heels for your daughter”

Luz rolled over and kicked her foot while a dopey smile, apparently dreaming of something quite enjoyable. Camila couldn't resist smiling and she stifled a laugh.

"You know...Luz changed all of us for the better. You did a good job raising the kid" Eda looked down at her apprentice with a fond smile "before she came along I was really only looking out for myself and King...but now she's family to me. I'd give anything to keep her safe".

Camila could see it, Luz had really grown on the witch, but she couldn’t help but wonder why her daughter had kept all this secret, she felt a little disheartened when she started speculating the reason.

* * *

  
  


After Luz had been turned back, she made a deal with Camilia, she ageed go back home with her, on the condition that Luz got to show her around for a day first.

She got to meet Luz's new friends, Gus Porter, Willow Park, and of course...Amity Blight. 

Eda was right about Amity, the girl turned tomato red just _talking_ to Luz, and based on Luz’s body language, their feelings seemed to be mutual.

  
  


Camilia could see how much they cared for each other. Luz had real friends now, willing to go to great lengths to help her with what she needed.

The ‘Boiling Isles’ as Luz had called it, was filled with fantastical magic, wonder, and great dangers, though it appeared that Luz knew well enough to stay safe. Camilia’s heart bloomed when she saw Luz so full of light and life, which had been quite absent back home.

Back home, Luz was expressive of her interests, but didn’t really talk too much about them because people thought she was weird. But here, she was expressing herself openly, and nobody judged her for it, she had found a place where she belonged. 

At the end of the day, they stood before the portal door. A deal was a deal after all, and now Luz was about to head home...for good. Camilia reached for the doorknob “are you ready?” she asked.

“ _si mamá_....” Luz replied, her entire demeanor had become saddened. Her body posture was slumped, and her newly pointed ears were drooping. She wouldn’t get to see any of this again, and she couldn’t do anything to stop it.

Camilia then stopped “wait, Luz” she knelt down to meet her daughter at eye level “when I was sending you off to summer camp that day, I wasn’t trying to stifle your creativity...I just didn’t want you to be bullied for being...different. I haven’t forgiven myself for that, but I never knew how to tell you..until now. Today I saw you so full of laughter and genuine happiness, I haven’t seen you like that in some time, but it breaks my heart _mi hija_ , that you felt like you had to lie to me about this”.

“I didn’t want to lie, mom, I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to tell you ‘hey mom! Not actually at summer camp! I’m in another dimension learning to be a witch!’ I just didn’t want to disappoint you” Luz said

“Luz, _nunca me decepcionarás_ “ Camilia hugged Luz tight and then felt her daughter’s arms wrap around her, and then heard her sniffles as she cried a bit. “I’ll let you stay here, Luz… as long as I get to come visit you as much as I want”

A new deal was struck, Luz was allowed to stay on the Boiling Isles, and even though she had to stay in contact a lot more now, Luz was relieved that the truth was out. Apparently, Luz was going to be pulled out of public school, letting her spend more time learning at Hexside

After having been made aware that Luz was most certainly _not_ sending letters, Camilia had vowed to have a very stern word with the camp.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the shirt Eda wore during her talk with Camilia https://www.redbubble.com/i/t-shirt/CASH-ALCOHOL-SOUND-INTELLECTUALS-OMELET-by-FayezButts/21989804.I57B7
> 
> when trying to figure out how Camilia would stumble across the portal door, which seems to be anchored to that abandoned house on earth, I had to think about a plausible reason she would even find it, and then I remembered that in A Lying Witch and a Warden, Owlbert was the reason Luz ended up on the Isles because he took something of hers, so I thought that would work here too
> 
> why did Luz fully transform? because we all forget to take our meds every once in a while, right? and what better way to show Camilia what happened then to show it bluntly before her very eyes?


	5. Acceptance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luz accepts that the curse is a part of herself

The next morning, Luz woke feeling like an immense weight had been lifted from her shoulders, she'd overcome a major hurdle in confessing the truth to her mother. Camilia was quickly assimilated as a part of the Owl House family before long. Every day she'd come through the portal after her work day to visit and torment King by hoisting him up and gushing about how cute he is.

Eda had been noticeably absent after Luz woke up. According to King, she was “conducting business” for a few days apparently. Luz didn’t think much of it, Eda sometimes made trips like this so it wasn’t out of the ordinary.

When she washed up, she noticed a growth on her sternum this morning, an oval gemstone like Eda’s, but in red.

* * *

  
  


Luz and Camilia sat outside a restaurant in Bonesborough, Camilia told her about all the things that had been going on back home since her last visit. Camilia noticed Luz seemed to have something big on her mind and so she decided to be blunt. "So...this Amity girl…"

"Mmm? What about her?" Luz asked, taking a sip of apple blood.

"You like her?" she asked

Luz went wide-eyed and choked on her beverage, her face was suddenly redder than a tomato and her hair poofed up a bit.

Camila couldn't help but stifle a laugh “that bad huh?” and Luz nodded meekly. 

“I like her” Camilia said and Luz’s ears perked up “I think she’s good for you”.

“T-thanks mom” Luz

Camilia would have a talk with Amity about the dating thing later, but now she just wanted to spend time with her daughter.

* * *

  
  


Each day Eda was gone, Luz preferred to sleep in the Clawthorne's nest bed, she didn’t know if it was because of how much she cared about Eda, or if it was from her curse, but it felt right to her. 

Luz went to school again, no Eda to see her off this morning, and Luz was a little worried, hoping to see her soon.

When Luz returned later that day she was very tired, the Oracle Track class today was very emotionally draining, and she wanted to crash in bed. Once she opened her door, she was greeted with a surprise. 

A nest bed, set where her sleeping bag normally was. Several shiny objects were littered around inside it too.

“Surprise!!” came Eda’s voice “what do ya think kiddo?” she flashed that signature grin of hers that made that light glint off her gold fang just right, in a way that made it glow a bit.

Luz pulled Eda into a tight hug and lifted her off the floor “I  _ LOVE _ it!!” she said

“Geez kid, what’ve you been eating?” Eda asked with a laugh, petting the girl’s hair “and where can I get some?”

* * *

Luz woke to her phone ringing and noticed a call notification from Amity on her phone

  
  


“Amity?” Luz yawned “what are you doing up this late?” 

“Hey, can I...come over to the Owl House?” her voice sounded hoarse.

“S-sure…” Luz replied, confused

“I’ll be there soon” Amity hung up 

Luz looked out her window, she felt more anxious about seeing Amity than she had been anytime before…” _ what was going on? _ ” she wondered, “ _ I hope something bad didn’t happen _ ”. 

She made out Amity’s silhouette against the trees, she was followed by what looked like one of her Abominations carrying luggage. Luz couldn’t wait another moment and bolted out her room, down the stairs, and out the front door. Amity met Luz and pulled her into a tight hug and asked her what happened

Amity explained that she had a fight with her parents after they had threatened to take action if she didn't stop seeing "the human girl". "I told them that I lost one friendship because of them, and I wasn't going to let it happen again...you're too important to me, Luz. Your bravery inspired me to stand up for myself."

“What about your brother and sister?” asked Luz

“They said they’d be fine...despite how annoying they are, those two can get through anything...besides, they’re leaving the house soon at some point anyway” Amity said

Luz hadn’t heard much about Amity’s home life, but from just the snippet exchange she saw in Willow’s mindscape, she knew that the Blight parents were not good people in the slightest.

They went back inside and crashed in Luz's nest bed.

* * *

Luz had been working in secret to try and exert her willpower upon the curse, while Eda had been content with just staving it off, Luz believed she could learn to control it, make it easier to manage. She thought back to the day after she was cursed and remembered Eda mentioning “emotional states” in regard to keeping the curse at bay. Luz, and Amity--after she learned about it-- devised a theory that strong emotions affected and/or triggered her transformations. 

Luz remembered her first transformation had been specifically triggered when she felt anger at Lilith for hurting both Eda and Amity, and her second happened when she was panicking after Camilia had tried to take her back home. Even tiny transformations occurred during emotional reactions, like her hair becoming poofier or her eyes changing .

  
  


Their chance to test the theory unintentionally came when Amity and Luz got in a little over their heads during a training session on The Knee. Originally, they were trying to test Luz’s strength with her Glyph magic in a mock duel, but they disturbed the Slitherbeast by accident...again. It recognised them, apparently still holding a grudge for what happened the last time, and it attacked them. Amity got injured when the creature’s claws had sliced through her coat, leaving deep gouges in her arm.

Overcome with anger, Luz transformed into the Owl Beast and met the creature head-on, resulting in a short battle which ended when the much-faster Owl Beast inflicted enough damage to force the creature into fearful retreat, bleeding profusely. Luz roared after the Slitherbeast, though still held her position in case it came back.

Still in her Owl Beast form, she turned back to Amity and tended to her wounds, licking them clean and nuzzling her cheek and purring. When the bleeding stopped, the two of them returned to their campsite slipping into the tent they had set up, and they cuddled together under a blanket. Luz’s body produced a lot of heat and Amity’s cheeks flushed as she snuggled her feathery crush and hero, and let her eyes close.

* * *

_ 2 days later... _

Luz stood in front of the library, dressed up for her first date...with Amity. She was nervous...very nervous, but both Eda and Camilia had been very supportive.

Amity arrived at noon, wearing a similar getup to the one Luz had seen her in the day they had met to exchange Azura book 5, but her hair had changed to its natural brown, a sign of defiance and growth since leaving her parents.

“D-do you like it?” Amity said, playing with a strand of her hair

“You look pretty girl-GOOD p-pretty good, you look pretty good” she hoped Amity hadn’t noticed her blush.

Amity giggled in a way that made Luz’s heart flutter, had it always done that? Then she held out her hand asking if Luz was ready.

They went to a small cafe for a lunch date, talking about Azura and laughing together, then they went shopping together in the markets of Bonesborough until late in the afternoon. Their date led them to where they had danced during Grom, the tree still stood tall and strong. They danced together in the moonlight once more, to some earth song on Luz’s phone.

Their first dance had been quite something, but now? They never felt anything so magical before, like a pure, powerful, primal magic that couldn’t be conjured or cast. 

The way Amity’s hair shone against the moonlight captivated Luz...the way Luz’s eyes twinkled like a thousand stars to Amity. No wild magic or spectacle from the Emperor could best these. Luz couldn’t believe she had been so dense before.

It was at that moment, they felt a little braver than before, brave enough to conquer any challenge before them, and then suddenly nothing else in the world mattered, except what was right before them...and then their lips met.

A feeling like a thousand fireworks exploded within their hearts. They separated after what felt like an eternity, and then laughed together.

“So I guess we’re girlfriends now?” said Amity

“On one condition...I get to be the girlfriend!” Luz said with a grin 

Amity rolled her eyes “you’re dumb, but I love you, you dork” 

Luz giggled and pecked Amity on the nose

* * *

  
  


Luz found herself in the dungeons of the Emperor's castle again, she tried to call out for her friends, but it was as if her voice had been lost to her, she could not speak. Every sound she heard echoed through the room, she could feel something wooden pressed against her forehead, and remembered what she was seeing...this was the night Lilith Clawthorne cast the curse on her.

" _ Old gods heed mine call, unto this sinner bringeth her fall. A curse of feathers and mud I afflict unto this one, see to her suffering as thy wills be done _ ". She saw a green light emanate from the staff and Luz screamed in pain. 

The first transformation was more excruciatingly painful then she remembered, and then she saw Amity standing in the doorway, looking at her with fear. Luz tried to call out for her to run, but no words could leave her mouth...only the sounds of the Owl Beast.

" _ Luz!! _ " Amity called and again as she saw herself pounce upon her, sharpened talons outstretched “ _ LUZ!!! _ ”

  
  


Luz woke suddenly, she was still in the Owl House, sleeping in her nest bed and not transformed. She was sweating and gasping for air before the tears began flowing and she sobbed.

" _ mi amor? _ " Amity's voice came softly from next to her, her arms soon wrapping around Luz's frame.

Luz held onto her girlfriend and cried into her shoulder.

They stayed like this until they fell asleep in each other's arms.

* * *

_ 3 years later _ …

The pair walked hand-in-hand out of the Hexside gymnasium, diplomas held high and proud. The crowd of parents applauded as all the students in the graduating class threw their caps into the air. Camilia and Eda embraced Luz and Amity, happy for their accomplishment, but there was one more thing they needed to do.

  
  


They returned to the spot of their victory against Grometheus over three years ago, the magical tree created from their magic. This was a special tree, and one they would use to craft their Palismans, Eda offered to supervise, Camilia had come along because she was curious.

“Your Palisman is your partner for life, it must be something that deeply resonates with you to establish a mutual bond” she instructed “now choose a branch to make it and think deep about what your Palasman will look like”. Both Luz and Amity held their branches in hand.

Luz thought hard about her choice, she looked back at Eda and Camilia...and then at that moment, she knew and thus began carving the shape of a snowy owl, a Caduceus carved onto its chest, symbolising both of her motherly figures in her life.

Amity carved a bunny, an animal she had loved since her childhood. Their eyes met and Amity smiled in a way that made Luz's heart flutter. On the chest of her Bunny Palisman, she carved a light glyph, slightly incomplete so it couldn't activate by accident. 

When their Palismans first awoke it was a magical moment, Luz’s owl, Blizzard, cooed and nuzzled Luz’s cheek. Amity pet her bunny, Otabin, between the ears. 

Luz took Amity’s hand and they watched a shooting star fly through the night sky. They wished this day would never end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the song Luz and Amity dance to is "Can't Fight This Feeling" by REO Speedwagon
> 
> and with that that's the end!
> 
> Thanks for reading, Hexolios!

**Author's Note:**

> my take on Owlett Luz/ cursed Luz 
> 
> each chapter explores a different part of Luz living with her curse, from the initial pain, to acceptance of the affliction
> 
> in this story, the Owl Beast curse, or whatever it's called, can only work on one person at a time, so when Lilith cursed Luz, it actually transferred from Eda to Luz.
> 
> Eda still retains her usual mannerisms, but she doesn't have the curse


End file.
